Exploitation and sexual harassment of female workers uncovered at Barbie doll factory in China

ActionAid Ireland chief executive Karol Balfe said the investigation was deeply troubling, showing  the company makes billions in profits annually while female workers are abused and exploited. File picture

Irish consumers have been urged to sign a petition calling on toy giant Mattel to end the sexual harassment and exploitation of female workers in a vast Barbie doll factory in China.

It follows the release of an undercover investigation, led by ActionAid France and China Labour Watch, that exposes a litany of abuses facing female production line workers in the Mattel factory in Chang’an, Guangdong, currently the sole Barbie production site in China. It found a number of issues including: